Blog

It is common for two different US routes to overlap (meaning they are concurrent along the same highway for a certain distance before splitting apart again).

It is less common for three (or even more) US routes to overlap. For example, traffic heading west from Cody, Wyoming, towards Yellowstone is on US 14, US 16, and US 20 (all at the same time).

Also, it is not uncommon for at least two concurrent routes to be signposted with different cardinal directions. For example, drivers heading east on Colfax Avenue in Denver will see signs for both "East US 40" and "South US 287".

Sometimes the two routes are signed in opposite directions. For example, heading west from Wytheville, Virginia, a short segment of interstate carries not only northbound I-81 and southbound I-77, but also northbound US 11 and southbound US 52. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as a "wrong-way overlap", or a "which-way overlap". These are a little more rare, but nothing to get too excited about.

However, there is a situation that is quite uncommon: three concurrent US routes, each with a different cardinal direction. Here are a few examples from Texas; this first one is in Vernon:

Between there and Oklaunion, one stretch of highway carries three different directions of US 70-183-287.

In Early there is a one-mile stretch of road that carries three different directions of US 67-84-183-377:

Here is another example from Dodge City, Kansas:

​Yet another instance can be found near Maysville, Kentucky:

A couple more examples can be found in Oklahoma. One is to the north of Enid...

...and another is between Ponca City and Tonkawa (if necessary, click the + button to zoom in, and then pan):

Are you aware of another example of a three-way wrong-way US route overlap? If so, please comment. Or how about a single road that carries all four cardinal directions?